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Happy 4th of July - Gluten-Free & Vegan Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Happy Birthday America and thank you to all those that have, that are, and that will fight for our U.S rights!

I have recently been blessed with the opportunity to tent-camp for 9 days and relearned how the land we live on can provide so much for us.
Fresh air, clean bath water, wood for cooking and warmth, beautiful birds to sing to us, flowers to smell, waterfalls to awe in and so much more.

How can one not fall in love with the land around us!? Nature in its raw form is pure magic!

To celebrate, my family and I hosted our annual 4th of July cookout. it is kept small and just a couple family friends attend - but it is always a wonderful time!

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The Lucci Family created Luhv with some important core values in mind - how can they help be an advocate for their customers, supporting local, and creating a product with sustainability in mind.

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I had my twin and younger sister coming in with their significant others and we already determined that we would be enjoying the 2015 countdown to some salsa dancing at Cuba Libre I didn't feel like forking out a $100+ just to enjoy a New Year's dinner and I didn't want to be too far from Cuba Libre - so I went with good-old reliable Han Dynasty. I made my reservation for 6 rather easily and we found front row parking as well!

Even though the restaurant was busy (which is expected for New Year's Eve), we were seated on time and waited on with attention and care. There was not one moment where we felt rushed.

Now, because I was eating with a group and we decided we wanted to try a little bit of everything, I had to go non-vegan this night... but honestly, it was worth it and some of my favorite dishes were the fish and meat ones.

Thanks for contacting MOM's - we can absolutely accommodate gluten free and vegan diets at Naked Lunch! Some more information on this is below: All Naked Lunch dressings are vegan and gluten free (they're also soy and dairy free). Our Cauliflower Stew and Butternut Squash Soup are vegan and gluten free. Our Black Bean Burger can be made vegan and gluten free by request.These bowls are vegan and gluten free: Crowder Bowl, Lin Bowl and Sushi BowlAny of our bowls can be made vegan and gluten free by request by choosing substitutes. Feel free to speak with our Naked Lunch staff, who are are very experienced with dietary restrictions and are always happy to provide suggestions/alternatives.One quick note is we are not a 100% gluten, dairy and soy free kitchen - we let anyone with very serious allergies know that.

Instructions
Grate all ingredients (minus lemon and pineapple slices) and mix together with the peach and apple. Once grated, you can squeeze out any extra water and form patty-like shapes.
I let mine sit overnight and then removed some of the additional water that pooled in the container. I transferred to a grill-friendly container, topped with fresh pineapple and lemon slices and grilled until warm.

I, of course, added some hot sauce to mine - but please feel free to dress it up according to your preferences. Next time I think these would be great in a wrap of seaweed or tortilla shell.

It has been awhile since I posted an update on where I am in life today.

While some have questioned me, asking, "these posts, they are public, doesn't it cause you anxiety to be so raw and put everything out there like that?"

My answer has always been the same thing, "No." This process is actually rather therapeutic for me.

When I first start typing, I am never really sure what is going to come out. I just sit down with a warm cup of tea and starting blabbing on and on, essentially to myself and while doing so, my fingers start moving and capturing some of the words I am spitting out.

I have noticed that I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on my progress recently. Thoughts like, "wow, how was I ever in that state, why would I have ever let that have bothered me, etc." keep coming up. I take these reflections as a sign of additional healing. I am at the point where I can see right from wrong for myself. I know I want to be happy and to do so, …

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I gladly jumped in and offered my assistance. As a team, the tables were displayed and everything was ready for their general admission guests 7:00pm arrival.

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I've definitely expressed my opinion to others and I have come to the conclusion that one of the below theories is the cause of my lack of interest in Vedge.
1. I eat veggies every damn day of my life and therefore I have high standards for something creative and for only the freshest ingredients
2. I have a unique pallet. Because I do eat a diet that is heavy on fruits and vegetables with a sprinkle of grains and very minimal oils and sweets,
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I selected some pickled vegetables, some roasted tomatillo salsa, and zucchini noodles with a mango sauce.

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The mango sauce turned out to be much easier than I had anticipated.

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Popular posts from this blog

Luhv, a family owned and operated vegan, gluten-free and non-gmo business started in 2015 with just a small product line: Black Bean Plantain Roasted Poblano Burger, Sweet Potato Jalapeño Soup and their famous Energy Soup.

The Lucci Family created Luhv with some important core values in mind - how can they help be an advocate for their customers, supporting local, and creating a product with sustainability in mind.

Since 2015,
You can now find the Luhv products in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
Check out the site here for additional details.
They expanded their product line to include a Garbanzo Flax Chipotle Burger
AND........they opened a Luhv Vegan Bistro in Hatboro, PA

I met Facundo Lucci back when they were just starting out at the first ever- Great Philly Gluten Free Expo. I immediately fell in love with Luhv. The product not only tasted great, texture held up, environmentally conscious AND family-owned! I was alrea…

I have been wanting to try the hyped-up Han Dynasty for some time now and I found the perfect opportunity, New Year's Eve.

I had my twin and younger sister coming in with their significant others and we already determined that we would be enjoying the 2015 countdown to some salsa dancing at Cuba Libre I didn't feel like forking out a $100+ just to enjoy a New Year's dinner and I didn't want to be too far from Cuba Libre - so I went with good-old reliable Han Dynasty. I made my reservation for 6 rather easily and we found front row parking as well!

Even though the restaurant was busy (which is expected for New Year's Eve), we were seated on time and waited on with attention and care. There was not one moment where we felt rushed.

Now, because I was eating with a group and we decided we wanted to try a little bit of everything, I had to go non-vegan this night... but honestly, it was worth it and some of my favorite dishes were the fish and meat ones.

Thanks for contacting MOM's - we can absolutely accommodate gluten free and vegan diets at Naked Lunch! Some more information on this is below: All Naked Lunch dressings are vegan and gluten free (they're also soy and dairy free). Our Cauliflower Stew and Butternut Squash Soup are vegan and gluten free. Our Black Bean Burger can be made vegan and gluten free by request.These bowls are vegan and gluten free: Crowder Bowl, Lin Bowl and Sushi BowlAny of our bowls can be made vegan and gluten free by request by choosing substitutes. Feel free to speak with our Naked Lunch staff, who are are very experienced with dietary restrictions and are always happy to provide suggestions/alternatives.One quick note is we are not a 100% gluten, dairy and soy free kitchen - we let anyone with very serious allergies know that.

Instructions
Grate all ingredients (minus lemon and pineapple slices) and mix together with the peach and apple. Once grated, you can squeeze out any extra water and form patty-like shapes.
I let mine sit overnight and then removed some of the additional water that pooled in the container. I transferred to a grill-friendly container, topped with fresh pineapple and lemon slices and grilled until warm.

I, of course, added some hot sauce to mine - but please feel free to dress it up according to your preferences. Next time I think these would be great in a wrap of seaweed or tortilla shell.